1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to control devices for motor vehicles. More particularly the apparatus is useful for providing an adjustable accelerator pedal position to accommodate various vehicle operators.
2. Disclosure Information
In the conventional motor vehicle, pedals are provided for controlling the brakes and engine throttle. If the vehicle has a manual transmission, then a clutch pedal may also be provided. These pedal controls are operated by the vehicle operator. In order for the vehicle operator to obtain the most advantageous position for working these controls, the vehicle's front seat is usually slidably mounted on a seat track with means for retaining the seat along the track in a number of set positions.
The adjustment provided by moving the seat along the seat track does not accommodate all vehicle operators due to obvious differences in anatomical dimensions. It has therefore been recognized that it would be desirable to provide pedals that are adjustable so as to increase the comfort of the vehicle operator. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,607, assigned to the same Assignee as the present invention, provides a vehicle control assembly for providing pedal adjustments. Previous adjustable pedal assemblies shared common shortcomings preventing their wide commercial success. Generally the designs were costly, very complex to manufacture and assemble and inconsistent in function throughout their range of adjustment. Specifically, the function attributes include providing a constant motion ratio through the full range of pedal adjustment, which is desirable for maintaining the desired actuation efforts. Additionally, previous adjustable pedal assemblies did not provide consistent ergonomic pedal travel throughout the range of adjustment.
It would be desirable to overcome the aforenoted difficulties with previous adjustable pedal assemblies for use in motor vehicles by providing a simple, low cost apparatus for adjusting the pedal location and providing all operators of various anatomical dimensions preferred pedal efforts and ergonomic pedal travel for operation of the motor vehicle.